On 6–7 June, the Theatre Institute took part in an international conference entitled Building Bridges: Collecting, Researching and Mediating the Performing Arts. The event was organised as part of the SIBMAS (The International Association of Libraries and Museums of Performing Arts) research network and was held at the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf and Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.
During the symposium, as part of the Poster & Photo Exhibition, the Reclaimed Avant-garde: Theatre Avant-garde in Central and Eastern Europe, a project run by the Theatre Institute since 2017, was presented as an example of significant international and intercultural cooperation. The conference was attended by participants from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and, of course, Poland. The project was presented on behalf of the Institute by Krystyna Mogilnicka and Dorota Buchwald.
Participation in the event not only gave us the opportunity to discuss the Institute’s long-term research project, but it was also a chance to exchange knowledge, establish inspiring contacts, and actively follow trends related to the preservation and (re)interpretation of performative culture.
The Building Bridges: Collecting, Researching and Mediating the Performing Arts conference was attended by over 50 archivists and researchers of performing arts from around the world. One of the topics discussed was the archiving of dance, including the uniqueness of visual records in choreograpers’ handbooks. Conference participants also explored the phenomenon of illustrated lectures (Lichtbildvorträge) from the early 20th century as a performative form on the intersection of theatre, visual arts, and science. The omission of women from official history was also discussed, with reference to the narrative of Madeleine Renaud and Jean-Louis Barrault’s management of the Théâtre national de l’Odéon. The debate also addressed the issue of archiving the entire theatre ecosystem, based on the example of the independent theatre scene in Germany, which is currently experiencing a significant reduction in funding.
The organisers of the conference, PD Dr. Nic Leonhardt (SIBMAS), Dr. Sascha Förster (Theatermuseum Düsseldorf) and Thomas Thorausch (Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln) said about the event: “The symposium gathered representatives of the performing arts, theatre and dance researchers, archivists, librarians and curators to discuss what connects us: the shared passion and curatorial or scientific curiosity about the performing arts in all their facets – present and historical”.
An in-depth report from the symposium will soon be published in Polish in the Encyclopaedia of Polish Theatre Monitor (Monitor Encyklopedii Teatru Polskiego).
The full programme of the conference is available here.
